Smyrna times., 1887-06-29
WHERE AND HOW JET IS FOUND.
Claims of the Whitby People in Regard
to Its Formation.

Olalms OF the Whitby People in Regard
to Its Formation.
Jet Is a shining black substance which
Is found IN seams dissOciated from other
black minerals, and not in the coal regions
OF england, but in others, notably near
Wmtby, III Yorkshire 1t occurs also in
SaxOny and in the amber districts ON the
Prusslan shores of the Baltic. The scion.
tists maintain that it is a variety of coal
out the Whitby folks adduce many cir
Culhstances that go to prove that it must
nave been at some time i'll a gummv or
senl-hquld state quite unlike coal from
| hgneous sources. Bits of vegetable sub-
stances are often found imbedded in II
al9c mes wings and other small articles,
winch favor the Whitby theory.
The stratum called jet rock is found
mostly at Whitby, in a sort of shale.
winch when distilled, yields ten gallons
OF OIL a ton. The nature of the c0nnec-
Iloh between this oil and Jet cannot now
be determined, though some connection
evidently existed in past times. There is
hard Jet and soft Jet, the former beino
the best. 1t occurs in detached pieces
ranging IN size from domino up to those
many pounds in weight, The largest
lieCe ever found was six feet long. five
lnches wide and one and a half inches
thlck. The British museum refused to
give ten glineas for it, but dealer maid
hfteen for it and cut it up into CRISES of
UNUSUAL size. How long jet, or black
AMBER as 1t was formerly called, has
Deen worked at Whitby is not known.
Dut certainly for many centuries.
In tumulus or barrow near the town
the skeleton Of a lady was found. sum-
posed to belong to the ancient British
days, before the date of the Danish in
Vaslons, and with II were earrings of let
two inches long by quarter Of an inch
thick. They were heart shaped. with a
hole IN the upper part for the wire. Jet
possesses considerable electric Qualities
Ike amber. 1t was made into beads and
rosarles IN the middle ages by the monks.
AS trade it had not much activity till
Inc beginning Of the present century.
Inc SpaniaTds made beads and ro-aries of
the soft kind Of Jet, and when English
ladies began to wear it In mourning the
Whitby industry began to flourish. At
Ilrst the workers used only knives and
~AetebACW I'LL ulSGONeIe0 a |
method of turning this brittle sub
stance in a lathe. The largest find
ever made was forty years ago, at NORTH |
Bats, a spot In the neighborhood |
OF Whitby, and consisted of $40 pieces of |
stones, valued at $1,25O. The let is |
picked up on the shore, at the foot of the
cliffs, but this is of an inferior quality
A dangerous mode of obtaining it is to
cut down the face of the cliff, until let
seam IS reached. 1t is also tunneled for
twenty miles inland, near Bilsdale in the
Cleveland hills. The men rent the work
ings, as in the copper and tin mines of
Cornwall, and they may work month
without coming across a bit of the
precious stuff. The prices for the best
hard jet is three shillings a pound; for
the soft, one shilling. The Whitbv
variety is the finest known, as it Is
tougher and more elastic than any other.
and admits Of higher polish. Many
articles sold in the shops as Whitby let
arc derived from the Pyrenees, and are
liable to break through sudden heat or
cold, which is due to a slight per cent. of
sulphur in the Spanish variety.